American swastika

Amazon, Ebay and Hillary Clinton launched a war against the flag of the Confederation. Why?

The flag of the Confederation is the second most famous American banner after the official star-striped. The flag, during the years of the Civil War, who served the southerners of a military banner, has long turned into a symbol of extremely conservative Americans from the south, not embarrassed by their racist views. After the 21-year-old supporter of the ideas of the superiority of the White race Dylann Ruf shot nine blacks in Charleston, America began a war with the flag of the Confederates-large companies were removed with it, many politicians began to condemn it. "Medusa" tells why the flag of the Confederation is considered a symbol of racism and what will happen to it now.

Where did the flag of the Confederation come from

The well-known red-blue flag with two crossed diagonal stripes and stars on them was invented with the participation of journalist William Thompson in 1863 as a symbol of the confederal states of America-the Commonwealth of 13 slave-owning states, which existed from 1861 to 1865. The banner, called the “steel flag”, looked a little different from us used to - it was almost completely white, and stripes with stars and red fill were in the upper left corner. Thompson called it the “flag of the White Man” and called the white color on the flag a symbol of the superiority of the white race.

“We, as a people, are fighting for maintaining the heavens of the intended superiority of a white man over a second -rate color race; The white flag in this way would be an emblem in our case, ”said Thompson.

During the war of the south and north, the red-blue flag was widespread in the form of a military banner and reached the white background to our time. After the defeat of the confederal states of America in 1865, the flag practically stopped flickering in the United States, it could only be noticed at the gatherings of war veterans and similar events. The revival of the banner began in the late 1940s simultaneously with the struggle against the spread of Lynch ships in the American south, which were often carried out under this very flag. Since then, the flag of the Confederates began to gradually enter the mass culture as a symbol of radical conservatives-the flags could be seen on cars of rural residents, bikers, even fans of music with racial subtext and without it (country, southern rock and rolls). Around the flag of the Confederates, the image of rebellion arose, the flag was often mentioned in country songs as a symbol of the revival of the south, often without any hint of racism. Sometimes it is precisely as a symbol of the American outback that it is perceived in Europe, where not everyone delves into details of the history of the civil war.

What about the flag now?

The flag of the Confederation has become one of the most recognizable American brands - in the USA you can buy any thing with its image, from diapers to tractor. Many Americans, especially in the south of the country, hang out the flag in their lawns in memory of the ancestors and the past of the land on which they live - at least they say so. In mass culture, the flag of the Confederation became one of the attributes of a rude and near resident of the American captain, the same as a pickup, a cowboy hat, a love of drinking, Rodo, the Republican Party and American football. The symbol of the Confederates is also used by many frankly racist organizations, it is called "American swastika", only completely legal.

In one form or another, symbols associated with the Confederation are present on the flags of several American states at once, but only on the flag of the Mississippi can the combat banner of the Confederates can clearly be seen. In 2001, the state even held a referendum on the change of flag, but most of the residents of Mississippi chose to leave the previous option. From the 1950s until the 2001, the Confederation Symbol has flaunted on the flag of Georgia, but then it was decided to change it to a more neutral option.

In many southern states, you can order a state license plate with the symbols of the "sons of the confederation veterans" - the logo of this organization includes the flag of confederates. In the memory of the civil war in several states, including in South Carolin, the flag is hung out in front of the buildings of local authorities. A demonstration of the flag near the building of the South Carolina parliament and the fact that the killer of nine African -Americans in Charleston repeatedly posed with the symbols of the Confederation, and caused the next calls to the ban on the banner.

Defenders and opponents. Quotes

The leader of the unit of the "Sons of the Confederation Veterans" in South Carolina Liland Summers : “Do not connect the cowardly manifestations of racism with our flag of the Confederation. There is absolutely no connection between the murder in Charleston and the memorable flag of the Confederation. Do not create it. "

US presidential candidate from the Democratic Party Hillary Clinton : “This flag is a symbol of the racist past of our nation, which has no place either now or in the future. It should not be posted here. It should not be posted anywhere. ”

US presidential candidate from the Republican Party Lindsay Graham : “We are not going to justify this guy because of the book that he read, the film that he watched, the song that he listened to, or some kind of symbol. This is he [to blame], not the flag. "

The US presidential candidate from the Republican Party, former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush : “In Florida, we took measures and removed the flag from the state of the state where he should be - to the museum. <...> When the time of mourning passes, the leaders of South Carolina must make a decision, and I am sure they will make the right decision. "

What will happen next?

A loud murder in Charleston, committed, without any doubt, out of racial hatred, raised a question not only about the appropriateness of the flag of the Confederation of the Parliament of South Carolina, but also the ban on this symbol. In many photographs, Dylanne Ruf, detained on charges of massacre in Charleston, poses with the flag of the Confederation and trampling and burns an official American flag; Given the manifesto published on the Ruf’s website about the superiority of the white race, it is difficult to believe that he simply paid tribute to his ancestors.

So far, the flag remains to hang in front of the building of the South Carolina parliament, but in the near future, at the request of the Governor of the state of Nikki Halei, the deputies will discuss the issue of its removal - only they can make such a decision. Many private companies on their own initiative introduced a ban on the symbols of the Confederates. Products with the flag of the Confederation will disappear from the stores of the largest Walmart retailer and the Amazon online store, Ebay's online auction has announced plans to ban the sale of symbols with the flag of confederates on its site. Also, the Google Shopping online Supermarket and several other trading platforms joined the ban. There is no question of any legislative prohibition of the flag of the Confederation, but with the efforts of private business, it can eventually turn into a collection rarity.

Pavel Borisov

Riga